Some Guidance For Sales Managers Wanting To Build a Zero-Mistake Culture In The Sales Team

The notion of zero-mistakes was initially created in manufacturing as a way to enhanc profitability. The ideas are easily transferable into the sales force. This sub mission outlines how the Sales Supervisor can implement and encourage a zero-mis takes culture.

The zero mistake objective was first set in production environments. It really is a l t more cost-effective to manufacture a flawless item from the very beginning tha n to look for flaws which have emerged during manufacturing and having to repair these. This successful strategy can be transferred to sales and is consequently generally included by sales supervisors in their sales training programmes. Zer o mistakes in sales means the selling department creates no dissatisfied customers. It normally requires a great deal of work to produce a zero mistake culture in s ales. The job starts off with you, the sales manager. As soon as you have reco gnised the advantages of the approach, you need to move this conviction to the s ales team. From there it is really a easy step to shift this to your customers. Before laying a finger on your sales organisation, do a kind of stock-taking. Boost your own personal customer contacts. Accompany salespeople to client visit s and make customer visits your self. Listen and experience 1st hand what your clients think of you, your product and also the service you deliver. See the last complaint process through to its resolution. What likely improvemen ts did this imply to you? What would make clients un-happy and what makes them h appy? Watch yourself: how do you talk to the sales people regarding clients? What exac tly is your attitude towards customers? How does your attitude and behaviour col or the conduct of your sales team? Taking stock will show you exactly where you stand and where, as a result, the v ast majority of your sales team stand. Satisfied customers really don't come about just because you send your sales tea m to the relevant sales training seminars. The foundation for producing happy c lients is really a working environment which helps make it possible for no error s to occur, combined with an appreciation of your customer and his/her desires. Organise your selling process to make it as straightforward and streamlined as y ou can. Complicated official channels for order forms, multiple copies of order information by hand or vague responsibilities do not create conditions suitable for flawless work. Do away with all the actions between customer contact and del ivery that are not required or which tend not to contribute to customer satisfac tion. Deliver your appreciation of the client to your salespeople. Top performances in selling always rely on the working atmosphere. If you appreciate the client and their satisfaction is vital to you, this attitude will rub off on the selling t eam. The exact same is unfortunately true of the reverse. If some thing goes wrong, make up for it! There are actually still companies that force bureaucracy on their customers and insist on the small print. A reason for this is often limited freedom for decis ion-making on the part of the salesperson or service representatives.

Therefore, if anything goes wrong, the person in contact with the client must po ssess the motivation as well as the freedom to compensate for the mistake in som e way. A client really should think that: Every person in your business has a stake in making sure that every thing goes a ccording to plan with the delivery - even if occasionally a mistake happens. She will not have to carry the can for your mistake. As an illustration: you have delivered on time, but have not delivered the whole order. Never wait around until your client contacts you to complain. Make conta ct with the client and explain what has occurred and apologise for the error. O ffer them an alternative: delivery as soon as the items are available, naturally free of charge, or immediate delivery of a substitute item.

Build up a consistent follow-up system. Each and every customer who does not go on to order more items from you should be asked why . This really is the only techniqu to locate potential weak areas inside your sales organisation. You'll be surpri sed how much info you get hold of this way concerning the current market, your c ompetition and the client. Make the info you obtain readily available in report form to the sales people plus the office sales department. In conclusion, close client relations and constant customer orientation, supplem ented by focused sales training are ways of achieving competitive advantage. In situations of high cost pressure you have the further edge that such techniques don't require a large budget. Richard Stone is the Business director for Spearhead Training Group Ltd, an orga nization that runs a full range of management and sales training courses designe d for bettering business and personal effectiveness. It's possible to see a lot more information at http://www.spearhead-training.co.uk